NC Possum Drop organizer mum on plans for midnight

Monday

Dec 31, 2012 at 1:28 PM

BRASSTOWN, N.C. (AP) — The organizer of an annual Possum Drop in western North Carolina is remaining cagey on whether he'll use a live specimen to ring in 2013.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals filed suit earlier this year against the state Wildlife Resources Commission, which had for years issued a permit to country store owner Clay Logan to trap an opossum. A judge ruled last month that it is improper for the state to issue such a permit.

Logan's New Year's Eve celebration draws thousands to tiny Brasstown, where the nocturnal marsupial is hoisted high in a see-through box adorned with tinsel before being gently lowered at midnight.

Logan said last week he might use road kill or a stuffed animal, but he also hinted he might defy the court's order.